I have the Solo Pro 260a V2 which is my current favourite - fast and tough, great for camping with that tx charge feature.

I had been tempted by the Free Spirit 220a which seems to now be discontinued and available at close-out prices ($60). I can see that the 220a and new 328a are completely different helis.

My question is this - why are they so different?

Is the 328a simply a larger and faster 260a based heli (which it obviously resembles) or is there something of the 220a in there? Or is it ground up new?

I am trying to determine what new flying experience the ~$145 (shipped to Canada) will bring me over my little Solo Pro V2.

The 220A Free Spirit isn't officially discontinued, but it's definitely on it's way out. The 328A wouldn't be considered a direct replacement. It's a pinch smaller, and weighs less. Some like the 220A because of it's individual components, which makes it "upgradeable". The 328A is simliar to the Solo PRO 260A in the fact that it essentially is what it is. The test video I shot was in a 3-4 mph breeze, and it handled it well. I did take it out in a gustier wind, and it didn't fair too well. Controllable, but if you don't keep the momentum it can be tough to get going again and it gets pushed around abit. NE is also releasing the 228A in a few months, which looks to be more of a Free Spirit successor. No official specs are available, but I've seen detailed pics, and it looks to be the 220A replacement.

I wonder what the flight times of the 328 will be? I would hope for at least 8 minutes.

So far I've flown the 328A for 6 minutes. I'm being conservative only because I don't have any other batteries, and I want to break it in nice and slow. But after 6 minutes, the heli still has plenty of power, and doesn't show any signs of battery fatigue. But NE's newer cells seem to just conk out vs. a slow power bleed. I'm going to start stretching it a bit more to see how long it can go. You can see my first flight was just over 5 minutes, and the battery was still very healthy.

So far I've flown the 328A for 6 minutes. I'm being conservative only because I don't have any other batteries, and I want to break it in nice and slow. But after 6 minutes, the heli still has plenty of power, and doesn't show any signs of battery fatigue. But NE's newer cells seem to just conk out vs. a slow power bleed. I'm going to start stretching it a bit more to see how long it can go. You can see my first flight was just over 5 minutes, and the battery was still very healthy.

I found the same with the lipos of the Bravo SX. You get around 5 minutes, and then the battery voltage drops rapidly. On the first flights I was forced to land because the sudden drop caused the tail to loose hold. Reminds me of the Hyperion series of batteries, these show the same behavior, less slow power bleed, and instead a sudden drop. Wise to stay low to the ground later in the flight, when you test how long you can fly the 328.

i like the 228 also. red skids and tail boom look great. cant wait for this one to come out. wouldnt mind giving it a spin so make sure u keep us updated on this one rick

The 228A will have all aluminum parts on the head. The tail is still motor driven, but it's an inline motor housed at the end of the tail boom similiar to how Walkera executed it. The question is if it will have decent forward speed. I was never impressed with Walkera's 180's. If the 228A is agile, it will be a great outdoor FP.
NE's release schedule is really hectic this summer. The 328A is in production now, the 180D is coming soon with the 100D following shortly thereafter. The 228A's production schedule hasn't been released to me yet, but we'll need to get our hands on it first before we make a decision to carry it. It's a big heli, and is expensive to import, so we need to be sure it's what we expect it to be.
The 328A, 180D and 100D are no brainers, and will be fully supported.